Grrr why do the school keep contacting DH instead of me?

[KarmaAngel]

The dds' school has just signed up to Parentmail (I think it's called). Were you provide your email address and mobile number and they can send you letters and important stuff electronically, and can also contact you straight away if the school is to close etc. They sent out the forms weeks ago. So we signed up, providing my email and mobile number as the primary contact and DH's email and mobile number secondary. I'm a SAHM and DH is in work all day so I'm the obvious first contact. Or so you'd think. I do every drop off and pick up, DH very rarely as he works weekdays. The school always see me at the school not DH.

Yet DH has just checked his emails and there is one from parentmail asking him to verify his account. None in my inbox. So he verifies it, and it's also got his mobile number in there as the first point of contact. My email and mobile not on there at all. About a month ago dd2 was off nursery for about 2 weeks (viral infection, then water infection). The nursery phoned DH on his mobile in work to ask if dd2 would still be coming on the nursery trip. DH answered (even though he's not supposed to in work - could get disciplined) as he saw it was the school and thought something was up. They never phoned my mobile or the house phone. So I checked the next day if they had my mobile number, yes they had it. So I asked if they could please contact me first in future as DH is not supposed to answer his phone in work. Yes of course they said.

Fast forward to 2 week ago DH gets another call on his mobile whilst in work, and again answers it worried. Can he come and pick up dd1 she's not well. Well no he says he can't, but my wife will be there in 15 minutes he says. Bloody annoyed. He then has to phone me to go collect her. When I picked dd1 up I again asked could they please phone me first and not DH. Yes no problem.

So now they've got DH as the first point of contact again on this bloody parentmail thing. I've just changed all the details on there to mine. So lets see if they actually contact me first. DH never checks his emails, sometimes for weeks on end so something important could get missed. Were as I check mine several times a day.

I wouldn't mind but it's probably the receptionist who's put in all the details and she knows I'm the one who's always dropping off and picking up dd1 so why insist on DH being first contact all the bloody time. So frustrating.

It could be a simple admin error; our school records system has 'priority 1' for the first contact and so on. All you need to do (probably) is ring the school and ask them to check that you're down as the first point of contact (and to change it if you're not; bear in mind that it might not be in the receptionist's power to change the information on the system - it might need to be done by a head administrator). If a phone call doesn't work, try writing to the Headteacher, who'll make sure that such a simple matter is sorted out really quickly.

That does sound very annoying.

I would write to the Head and say they keep calling your husband rather than you and ask them to confirm to you in writing that they have changed the first contact details on their records because you are worried that in a real emergency, dh might not answer the phone.

I expect that whoever added all the contact emails to the Parentmail system for some reason left yours off. The same thing happened to my dh. So also ask them to confirm in writing that they have now added your email address.

The school is unlikely to send any emergency information via email but it would be annoying to miss an email about a school trip/concert for instance.

You probably need to cut them some slack as they do have to deal with hundreds of contact details.

calm down! They've probably just pu tthe data in wrong, ours did the same, I mentioned it, it was fine, not worth a major rant!